His heart was still beating from their confrontation. Anxious, he looked back at the door and made sure it was closed. As long as Aven doesn't come back, no one would be able to enter, if they even dared to with Aven around.
He let out a long breath and took off the helmet. He started feeling its suffocating weight. He threw it and let it roll around the dusty floor. Taking a deep breath in, he could finally calm down with the help of the surrounding silence. He finally opened his eyes.
His home was built by him solely for practicality. He didn't care for decor. Everything was placed where it was easiest to access, according to his needs. No unnecessary movements. His bed was in the corner, alone and away from any distractions. His desk was in the middle: a big table with all the needed tools for writing text or runes, for tinkering with magic shards, or fixing some equipment. A bookshelf not far from it was completely full of books, which meant there was no other place for the rest but the floor.
Stacks and stacks of books littered the entire floor. Each one had at least seven neatly stacked books that were related in some way to a specific something or someone he had to research. Knowledge is everything for an assassin. For Cael to have the advantage against his targets, he would need to know them and how they live.
However, being born in the Slums set him back in this department. He had no one to teach him anything. He couldn't read, he couldn't write, and he had no common sense. All he knew how to do was survive until he met Arlen and joined the adventurer's guild.
The moment he started earning money was the moment he started building this house, one coin at a time. Then he became a professional, building a reputation and finally finishing his house.
At that point, he managed to pick up reading, writing, and even how to count. Yet he was missing crucial information about history and important people, and the only way he could catch up was with books. But he wasn't allowed into libraries or to even buy his own. Even with a good reputation, he was still a new adventurer and a Slum rat at that.
So he did something he never thought he would do, and asked Arlen for a favor. Cael would give him the funds, and the Hero would go shopping in his stead. No one would refuse him. And so a couple of books grew into a small library. All the earnings that were left after essentials were spent on growing his collection: from history to magic to medicine, even politics and philosophy.
Walking carefully around the books, he approached his desk. The house was exactly how he left it a year ago, except for an empty frame that sat on the table, and the broken bracelet in front of it.
"Aven…"
That frame used to house the only picture Cael owned of himself. It was one with him and Aven around the time they started adventuring. The bracelet was one he gifted her when they were children. It had gotten small for her, and they had to go to Gorran to get it removed. She kept it with her all that time.
After staring at the empty frame for a minute, he went to his bed, sat on it, then laid down. It couldn't be more different than Arlen's. It was soft and warm and actually made for sleep. And before he could do anything else, Cael fell asleep as the exhaustion caught up to him.
***
"You're still doing that? Didn't you just come back from a mission?" Aven looked puzzled as she came closer to Cael, who was scratching at the door of his house.
"Yeah, I just got a new book and I think I finally got it." Cael didn't even look her way, trying not to break his concentration.
"You failed five times already. That poor door had to be fixed each time. Give it a break." She got even closer and leaned on his shoulder, observing his handiwork. The runes were drawn in perfect symmetry, each one giving a slight glow.
"Oooh, they never did that before. Did you actually get it?" She looked at him with excitement in her eyes.
"If someone wasn't distracting me, I might succeed this time…" His eyelids twitched with annoyance.
"Fine, fine…" She took a couple steps back and let Cael finish his work in peace.
His hands moved with precise and measured actions, his eyes unblinking and his mouth mumbling unintelligible words then—
Bang
A big smoky cloud came from the runes with a loud sound.
"Did it fail again?" Aven, assuming the worst, spoke with a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"Nah, that was a byproduct of the runes. Look." He waved the smoke out the way and revealed the door still standing strong, now with a red glow.
"Give it a good hit." He smirked and invited Aven to test his work.
"Don't be mad at me if it breaks." Smirking back at him, a dagger appeared in her hand from thin air. With a swift motion, her hand was empty once more. The small blade sliced the air with great speed, but before it got too close to the wooden door, it was repelled—as if there was a shield surrounding it—and landed on the ground.
"Wow, it really worked!" Aven's eyes were wide open.
"I told you I got it." His smile grew bigger, proud of his new door.
"You said the same thing all the other times too…" She raised an eyebrow at her proud friend.
"Details, details… Anyway, did you need me for something?" He waved his hand, signaling her to move on.
"Old man Gorran sent you a new dagger. It's the one I just threw." She pointed her finger at the dagger lodged into the ground.
"Why would you test the door with my new dagger?" He pulled it out and checked it for any blemishes.
"Well, I gotta go. I have a new mission, wanna join me? They're paying big." She started walking back.
"I'm beat. Enjoy your money. Catch." He threw her something, and she caught it with ease.
"What's this?" She looked at the key in her hand.
"You can't just waltz inside now that the runes are working, so use that." It was a key to the house.
"Hehe, you'll regret it when I come in at the middle of the night." A mischievous laugh escaped her mouth.
"Haha, I might mistake you for a burglar and take you out, so be careful." He laughed as he waved her goodbye.
Aven waved back and left. Cael used his key to open the door and got inside.
He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. He shook his head in disappointment and lit the candles himself. His house was mostly empty. The bookshelf was half way full, and the table had a couple of magic shards scattered across it.
He made a beeline to the bed and laid back, closing his eyes and easily fell asleep.
***
As he slowly opened his eyes, Cael was greeted by a familiar ceiling. He didn't dream in a long time. The entire year he spent with Arlen, he barely slept, let alone dreamed.
He quickly got up, as sleeping wasn't in his plans. He went to the closest window and opened it—it was almost dusk.
"Tsk. The day was wasted." His body's exhaustion got the best of him.
Not wasting any more time, he pushed one of the floorboards aside and took out a bag. It had his emergency supply, spare equipment, money, and copies of his most important notes.
He hid this stash in case he needed to leave in a hurry and for good.
Putting it over his shoulder and kicking the golden helmet upwards to wear it, he left his home for perhaps the last time. He pulled the door behind him and headed towards the blacksmith to take his masks.
But before he could go on his way, he noticed a small group of kids staring at him.
'…I know those kids.'
Debating on what he should do, Cael sighed and changed direction.
Seeing the burnt man approach them, the kids didn't know what to do and froze in place.
"W-What do you want from us!?" one of them managed to yell.
"Do you know the man who used to live here?" Cael asked. Taking a closer look he definitely knew the kids.
"Y-Yes, but he's not here! Mom said he went to a place very far away." Another one answered.
'Went far away, huh…'
"That's right. He's very far away." Cael knelt down to meet their eyes.
"You know him, mister?" A flicker of light flashed across their eyes.
"Yeah. He was my friend, that's how I got inside." Lying to kids wasn't something Cael liked to do.
"Oh! That makes sense!" One kid jumped as if understanding what was happening.
"It's been so long since we saw him. I thought something bad happened to him." Another one looked relieved as he spoke.
"You were concerned about him?" Genuinely surprised, Cael asked.
"Yeah! We missed him a lot!"
"He looks a bit scary, but he always gives us food and stuff."
"Yeah, one time he fixed one of my toys because he didn't like trash, but I know he's actually kind."
"Hah… Well, look at that. Cael is kind. Never thought I'd hear that." A smile managed to crack through after a long time.
"How about this?" He took out the key to his house from his pocket. "See this? It's the key to his house. And before he left, he told me to find some kids that knew him and give them the key. So here, it's yours."
If he's not going to use the house anymore, he might as well give it to them.
"Really!?"
"He said that?"
"Can we live in that big house?"
"Yeah. You can even invite your other friends. Just make sure to hide the books somewhere no one will see them, alright? And don't lose the key."
"Can I bring Mommy?"
"And my sister too?"
"One of our friends didn't come to play with us today. Can he come too?"
"Sure, but that's it, okay? The house isn't that big and it has one bed. There's some money. Tell your mommy to buy beds and lots of food." He patted each of them on the head and left them with the house.
"Thank you, mister!"
"Tell the scary mister thanks too!"
He waved at them and headed towards Gorran's shack.